editorNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Laura Sydell fell in love with the intimate storytelling qualities of radio, which combined her passion for theatre and writing with her addiction to news. Over her career she has covered politics, arts, media, religion, and entrepreneurship. Currently Sydell is the Digital Culture Correspondent for NPR's All Things Considered , Morning Edition , Weekend Edition, and NPR.org. Sydell's work focuses on the ways in which technology is transforming our culture and how we live. For example, she reported on robotic orchestras and independent musicians who find the Internet is a better friend than a record label as well as ways technology is changing human relationships. Sydell has traveled through India and China to look at the impact of technology on developing nations. In China, she reported how American television programs like Lost broke past China's censors and found a devoted following among the emerging Chinese middle class. She found in India that cell phones are the computer of theNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Laura SydellTue, 15 Aug 2017 15:25:03 +0000Laura Sydellhttp://kios.org
Laura SydellThe names and faces of individuals who were part of last weekend's white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., are being plastered all over the Internet by civil rights advocates. It's part of an effort to shame the people who participated. But, it's a tactic that can also snare some innocent people in its net. "Yes, You're Racist" is the name of a Twitter account that's been very active in posting pictures of white supremacists at the Charlottesville rally. Logan Smith, who runs the account, thinks other people should see the faces of white supremacists. "They're not wearing hoods anymore — they're out in the open," Smith says. "And if they're proud to stand with KKK members and neo-Nazis and anti-government militias, then I think the community should know who they are." Smith says he didn't attend the rally, but he's been getting pictures from activists who were there. They share them through social media. He re-posts them on his Twitter account. And on Twitter people are happySome Are Troubled By Online Shaming Of Charlottesville Rally Participantshttp://kios.org/post/twitter-account-names-and-shames-far-right-activists-charlottesville
96905 as http://kios.orgTue, 15 Aug 2017 09:01:00 +0000Some Are Troubled By Online Shaming Of Charlottesville Rally ParticipantsLaura Sydellhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPuyDbQwfHs A Google engineer who got fired over a controversial memo that criticized the company's diversity policies said that there might be biological reasons there are fewer women engineers. But top computer science schools have proven that a few cultural changes can increase the number of women in the field. In 2006, only about 10 percent of computer science majors at Harvey Mudd College were women. That's pretty low since Harvey Mudd is a school for students who are interested in science, math and technology. Then, Maria Klawe began her tenure as president of the college. Klawe — a computer scientist herself — had always been told that girls weren't good at these things. "This whole idea that women lean to liking doing one thing and men to doing another, it turns out I think if you do the curriculum and pedagogy well that's just false," she says. In fact, as soon as she arrived Klawe joined in an effort to change the curriculum. First the schoolColleges Have Increased Women Computer Science Majors: What Can Google Learn? http://kios.org/post/colleges-have-increased-women-computer-science-majors-what-can-google-learn
96755 as http://kios.orgThu, 10 Aug 2017 21:47:00 +0000Colleges Have Increased Women Computer Science Majors: What Can Google Learn? Laura SydellGoogle CEO Sundar Pichai cut his the vacation short and returned to the company's Mountain View, Calif., headquarters as criticism mounted over a senior engineer's controversial memo condemning Google's diversity initiatives. The engineer was subsequently fired. The memo, which some inside Google jokingly called a "manifesto," was widely shared inside and outside the company. James Damore wrote that "biological causes" are part of the reason women aren't represented equally in its tech departments and leadership. In addition, Damore said men have a "higher drive for status." Damore also criticized the company for being an "ideological echo chamber" that made it hard to dissent from "Google's left bias" and "politically correct monoculture." He also faulted the company for offering mentoring and other opportunities to its employees based on gender or race. Pichai released a memo of his own Monday night about the situation. Pichai said that he supported the right of workers to expressGoogle CEO Cuts Vacation Short To Deal With Crisis Over Diversity Memohttp://kios.org/post/google-ceo-cuts-vacation-short-deal-crisis-over-diversity-memo
96644 as http://kios.orgTue, 08 Aug 2017 16:53:00 +0000Google CEO Cuts Vacation Short To Deal With Crisis Over Diversity MemoLaura SydellCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit DAVID GREENE, HOST: Google has fired a software engineer who wrote a controversial internal memo that leaked over the weekend. James Damore's memo, called "Google's Ideological Echo Chamber," criticized the company's effort to diversify its workforce. And in doing so, the memo relied on gender stereotypes about women in tech. And let's talk more about this with NPR's Laura Sydell. Hi, Laura. LAURA SYDELL, BYLINE: Good morning. GREENE: So tell us exactly what this memo said. SYDELL: Well, among the things that the memo said was that Google was an echo chamber of opinion. And if you criticize the company's efforts at diversity, then you were a bad person. And most specifically, though, the memo questioned whether or not women were biologically suited to be engineers. And I think that's what really set off the firestorm within Google. GREENE: I can imagine. I mean - and we should this is one person's opinion that he sent around to colleagues. That'sGoogle Fires Engineer Who Criticized Diversity Effortshttp://kios.org/post/google-fires-engineer-who-criticized-diversity-efforts
96639 as http://kios.orgTue, 08 Aug 2017 12:27:00 +0000Google Fires Engineer Who Criticized Diversity EffortsLaura SydellPeople from New Jersey are used to defending their state. But, in fact, New Jersey has a history to brag about. Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, the phonograph and the movie camera there. Many decades later, Bell Labs invented the transistor in the state. Geography favored New Jersey. On one end, it borders New York City, and on the other end is Philadelphia. That means easy access to Wall Street financing, transportation and industry headquarters. It all started in the 18th century, when Alexander Hamilton took one look at the plunging Passaic River waterfall in Paterson and his eyes lit up with dreams of industry. That came true for silk, textiles and locomotives. Then in 1870, a smart young inventor named Thomas Edison set up shop in Newark . "The things that make it attractive for Edison are the things that kind of make it attractive for a lot of aspiring people who come to New Jersey today," says Leonard DeGraaf, an archivist at the Thomas Edison National Historical Park inBefore Silicon Valley, New Jersey Reigned As Nation's Center Of Innovationhttp://kios.org/post/silicon-valley-new-jersey-reigned-nations-center-innovation
94132 as http://kios.orgMon, 05 Jun 2017 22:18:00 +0000Before Silicon Valley, New Jersey Reigned As Nation's Center Of InnovationLaura SydellThis year marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of the man who invented recorded sound — Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville. He beat the more well-known inventor Thomas Edison by 20 years, though his accomplishments were only recognized over the last decade. While the uses of recorded sound seem obvious now — music, news, voice messages — none of it was obvious to Scott or Edison when they made the first recordings. It's a story that has some lessons for today's aspiring inventors. In 1857, Scott patented the earliest known sound recording device, the phonautograph — a device with a big funnel for catching sound and a needle attached to parchment that caught the vibrations and tracked them on soot-coated glass. Scott attempted several recordings of instruments, speech and of himself singing the song, Clair de Lune . But Scott never heard that recording. We can only hear the scratchy, haunting, but recognizably human sounds of those recordings now because almost a decade ago someAt The Dawn Of Recorded Sound, No One Caredhttp://kios.org/post/dawn-recorded-sound-no-one-cared
93589 as http://kios.orgMon, 22 May 2017 22:59:00 +0000At The Dawn Of Recorded Sound, No One CaredLaura SydellGoogle offered a glimpse of how it sees the future at its annual developer's conference this week. And it involves a lot of blending between the virtual and the real worlds using augmented and virtual reality. Google is calling that blend immersive computing. Clay Bavor, who heads up Google's AR and VR division, says it's all part of a future where the virtual and real worlds blur. "Virtual reality can make you really feel transported somewhere else," Bavor says. "Augmented reality can bring kind of digital information into your environment and make it really seem as if it's there in the real world." When it comes to virtual reality other companies like Facebook's Oculus Rift, Sony VR, and HTC Vive have aimed for the expensive high end. But Google has actually reached more people with its $15 Cardboard viewer that attaches to smartphones. This week it announced plans for a more advanced VR headset. Google will be the first major company to release stand-alone VR goggles. "UnlikeIn Google's Vision Of The Future, Computing Is Immersive http://kios.org/post/googles-vision-future-computing-immersive
93505 as http://kios.orgSat, 20 May 2017 12:01:00 +0000In Google's Vision Of The Future, Computing Is Immersive Laura SydellCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: Google offered a glimpse of how it sees the future at its annual Developers Conference this week, and that future involves a lot of blending between the real world and the virtual one. The company is investing heavily in what it's now calling immersive technology. NPR's Laura Sydell has more. LAURA SYDELL, BYLINE: Google's been the leader in getting the world acquainted with virtual reality. It's got that cheap, hand-assembled viewer called Cardboard that attaches to a smartphone. The company's going full throttle now and partnering with HTC and Lenovo on a standalone headset made of tougher stuff than Cardboard. Clay Bavor heads the division that developed it. CLAY BAVOR: Unlike systems that you have to connect to a PC or where you take your smartphone and insert it into a VR headset, everything you need for VR is contained right in the headset itself. SYDELL: Google is the first major company to release a standalone VRGoogle Is Investing In 'Immersive Technology'http://kios.org/post/google-investing-immersive-technology
93448 as http://kios.orgFri, 19 May 2017 09:10:00 +0000Google Is Investing In 'Immersive Technology'Laura SydellVideo of a murder uploaded to Facebook this week upset many users, especially since it took Facebook two hours to take it down. But the incident illustrates a dilemma for the company as it becomes an open platform for both recorded and livestreamed video. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was contrite about the incident when he appeared on stage at the company's F8 developer's conference. "Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Robert Godwin Sr.," said Zuckerberg, referring to the man whose murder was posted on Facebook. "And we have a lot of work, and we will keep doing all we can to prevent tragedies like this from happening." But, doing more may not be so easy for Facebook. On the one hand, its users want to be free to express themselves; on the other hand, they do want some protection. "Half the time it's, 'Oh no, Facebook didn't take something down, and we think that's terrible; they should have taken it down,' " says Daphne Keller, a law professor at Stanford University. "AndMurder Video Again Raises Questions About How Facebook Handles Contenthttp://kios.org/post/murder-video-again-raises-questions-about-how-facebook-handles-content
92323 as http://kios.orgFri, 21 Apr 2017 20:48:00 +0000Murder Video Again Raises Questions About How Facebook Handles ContentLaura SydellIt's been lean times for some of YouTube's most popular video producers. In the last two weeks ad rates have gone down as much as 75 percent. The producers are caught up in a struggle between advertisers and YouTube over ad placement. In recent weeks, reports showed ads from major brands placed with extremist and anti-Semitic videos. Companies such as General Motors, Audi and McDonald's pulled out of YouTube. That means there's less money for everyone. Now YouTube is trying to convince these companies to come back. And that's meant adjusting the algorithm that places ads. David Firth , a British animator whose dark comedic videos were bringing in a good living, says recently his earnings have "taken a huge nose dive." Firth says to bring back advertisers, YouTube began to stop running ads with some videos. "They've decided that there are a whole new set of rules for what you can and you cannot put an advert on and make money off," he says. "And they didn't tell anyone. They justOnline Video Producers Caught In Struggle Between Advertisers And YouTubehttp://kios.org/post/youtube-video-producers-caught-struggle-between-advertisers-and-google
92010 as http://kios.orgFri, 14 Apr 2017 09:31:00 +0000Online Video Producers Caught In Struggle Between Advertisers And YouTubeLaura SydellIt's daunting to think about the number of products Apple has created that have transformed how most people use technology: the original Mac with the first mass-produced mouse, the iMac, the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad. But fast-forward to 2017, and it appears that a lot of innovation is coming from other companies. Amazon has a hit with its Echo, a speaker device that responds to voice commands. Reviewers say Microsoft's Surface competes with the Mac. And now, Samsung's Galaxy S8 smartphone is getting raves because of its battery life and high-end screen. Both Apple fans and analysts who follow the company are beginning to wonder whether Apple has lost its mojo. All those innovations happened when Steve Jobs, Apple's co-founder, was running the company. And some former employees say a cultural shift occurred at Apple after Jobs died in 2011. One of those former employees is Bob Burrough, a software engineer and a manager who worked on the team that helped create the iPhone. He saysHas Apple Lost Its Innovation Mojo? http://kios.org/post/has-apple-lost-its-innovation-mojo
91834 as http://kios.orgMon, 10 Apr 2017 08:35:00 +0000Has Apple Lost Its Innovation Mojo? Laura SydellThere's a new brand on the Internet that's taking over some old ones — or at least old in Internet years. Yahoo and AOL are now under an umbrella company called Oath. The new brand has sparked more than a few jokes on Twitter and elsewhere. One critic pointed out it sounded a lot like Oaf — and another asked if "Oof" was already taken. But with more than a billion customers, the combination has potential. AOL CEO — soon to be Oath CEO — Tim Armstrong says consumers aren't really going to hear that name very much. "The Oath brand is a brand that stays behind the scenes," he says. "The real brands that we're going to be promoting are things like Yahoo, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, TechCrunch, Huffington Post." Oath, the umbrella under which Yahoo and AOL will live, is the result Verizon's $4.5 billion acquisition of Yahoo — which it will merge with its AOL operations. Armstrong says users of Yahoo products will be able to keep using them, but they're probably going to see a lot moreYahoo And AOL Move In Together Under 'Oath,' Verizon's New Digital Armhttp://kios.org/post/yahoo-and-aol-move-together-under-oath-verizons-new-digital-arm
91639 as http://kios.orgWed, 05 Apr 2017 09:03:00 +0000Yahoo And AOL Move In Together Under 'Oath,' Verizon's New Digital ArmLaura SydellCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: As we've mentioned, technology is a big part of South by Southwest. And it's also front and center in a tech conference that happened last week in Austin called South by Southwest Interactive. NPR's Laura Sydell was there, and she says there's a lot of interest in how the Trump administration will deal with tech companies. Some tech leaders say they're nervous, but others say they're optimistic. LAURA SYDELL, BYLINE: There's a long list of reasons why Donald Trump wasn't the candidate of choice for most techies. He recommended a boycott of Apple when it wouldn't help the FBI break into the iPhone of a terrorist. Tech businesses rely heavily on immigrants. Then there's tech's commitment to green energy, which doesn't seem to interest the pro-oil and coal Trump administration. Hugh Forrest, the chief programming officer for South by Southwest, says he's hearing a lot of nervousness from, say, companies that make electric cars.Tech Companies Have Mixed Feelings Toward Trump Administrationhttp://kios.org/post/tech-companies-have-mixed-feelings-toward-trump-administration
90943 as http://kios.orgSat, 18 Mar 2017 21:39:00 +0000Tech Companies Have Mixed Feelings Toward Trump AdministrationLaura SydellDonald Trump frequently boasts about starting a movement, and sociologists say they are seeing unprecedented grass-roots activism across the country. They credit Trump for inspiring people to become politically engaged on the right — and even more so on the left. And many of those activists are brand new to the scene. Campbell, a suburb just outside of San Jose, Calif., is known as a place where people dream about driverless cars and the next social app. But on a rainy Tuesday night, some 150 people sat for an hour and a half at Campbell United Church of Christ on rather uncomfortable folding chairs to hear from Native American activists who were fighting the development of the Dakota Access oil pipeline at Standing Rock. There were a few seasoned activists in the audience, and some who said they'd been politically active at varying points in their lives. But for many, all of this was new. Event organizer Celeste Walker, a mother of two who owns a chocolate shop in Campbell, watchedOn Both The Left And Right, Trump Is Driving New Political Engagementhttp://kios.org/post/both-left-and-right-trump-driving-new-political-engagement
90360 as http://kios.orgFri, 03 Mar 2017 10:48:00 +0000On Both The Left And Right, Trump Is Driving New Political EngagementLaura SydellThere are renewed efforts at the state level to pass so-called religious freedom bills. LGBTQ rights advocates believe that's because local lawmakers are anticipating support from the Trump administration. In Alabama, there's a bill that allows adoption agencies that are religiously affiliated to hold true to their faith if they don't think same-sex couples should be parents. The psychiatric community has found no evidence that having same-sex parents harms children. The bill is called the Child Placing Agency Inclusion Act. When it was first introduced two years ago, the bill didn't go very far. But since the election that has changed. For the first time the bill is listed on the Alabama State Senate GOP agenda. "This bill has been fast-tracked through the House of Representatives with support from both Senate and House Republican leadership," says Eva Kendrick, the Alabama state manager for the Human Rights Campaign, an LGTBQ rights group. With the choice of Jeff Sessions to beLGBTQ Advocates Fear 'Religious Freedom' Bills Moving Forward In Stateshttp://kios.org/post/lgbtq-advocates-fear-religious-freedom-bills-moving-forward-states
90145 as http://kios.orgSun, 26 Feb 2017 10:46:00 +0000LGBTQ Advocates Fear 'Religious Freedom' Bills Moving Forward In StatesLaura SydellIt was a dramatic market entry for the iPhone 7 last year. Many Apple customers grumbled when Apple took away the headphone jack and gave everyone an adapter to plug earbuds into the Lightning, or charging, connector. But everyone seems to have adjusted. Apple sold 78 million iPhones over the holiday season. In an earnings call, CEO Tim Cook indicated Apple could have sold more of them if it had enough in stock, says Gartner Research analyst Brian Blau. "That was encouraging news," Blau says. "That means that there's built-up demand out there, and that means that it's very possible that that demand will be continued into this quarter." Apple has more than a billion activated mobile devices around the world. Along with the increased iPhone sales, it's also bringing in more revenue from its app store, iTunes and cloud services. Cook mentioned the current U.S. political climate in connection with future growth. He seems to believe it's likely that Congress and the Trump administrationEven Without A Headphone Jack, iPhone 7 Boosts Apple's Saleshttp://kios.org/post/even-without-headphone-jack-iphone-7-boosts-apples-sales
89138 as http://kios.orgWed, 01 Feb 2017 09:05:00 +0000Even Without A Headphone Jack, iPhone 7 Boosts Apple's SalesLaura SydellAlphabet, the parent company of Google, is among the tech firms that are critical of the Trump administration's executive order barring Muslim immigrants from certain countries. This weekend, Google co-founder Sergey Brin took part in protests at the San Francisco International Airport. Today, the Google Doodle — the picture that appears on the home page of the search engine — provided a subtle reminder of what happens when the U.S. targets a group of citizens because of their national origins. The Doodle is an illustration of Fred Korematsu, the civil rights activist and survivor of the internment camps where the U.S. government put Japanese-Americans during World War II. In 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed an executive order that incarcerated more than 115,000 people of Japanese descent. The order was based on fears that in the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the heritage of these Americans meant they might be spies for the enemy. Korematsu , the son ofIs Today's Google Doodle A Poke At The Trump Administration?http://kios.org/post/todays-google-doodle-poke-trump-administration
89091 as http://kios.orgMon, 30 Jan 2017 22:16:00 +0000Is Today's Google Doodle A Poke At The Trump Administration?Laura SydellAn article in an online publication accusing Facebook of suppressing the Women's March in its trending topics caused a little tempest on social media over the weekend. Facebook says it did not intentionally block any story and is revealing a new way its trending-topics algorithm will now operate. Paul Bradley Carr, writing for online outlet Pando , on Saturday posted what he said were screen shots of his Facebook pages at the height of the worldwide marches, which brought more than a million people into the streets around the globe to protest the agenda of the Trump administration. Despite images and stories from the marches filling many people's personal Facebook feeds and the day's media coverage, Carr's screenshots showed no signs of the march in Trending Topics — a feature supposed to reflect popular discussed topics. And Carr says he discovered he was not the only one who didn't see the Women's March reflected on Trending Topics, accusing Facebook of trying to cozy up to the TrumpFacebook Tweaks Its 'Trending Topics' Algorithm To Better Reflect Real Newshttp://kios.org/post/facebook-tweaks-its-trending-topics-algorithm-better-reflect-real-news
88922 as http://kios.orgWed, 25 Jan 2017 22:51:00 +0000Facebook Tweaks Its 'Trending Topics' Algorithm To Better Reflect Real NewsLaura SydellApple, the company known for its devices, has plans to start making original movies and television programming, Hollywood insiders tell NPR. Hollywood seems to be happy to have Apple enter the game, but some say the company will face some challenges. When producer Sid Ganis first heard that Apple wanted to make TV and movies, "I thought to myself, 'What? And why?' " As a former president at Paramount Pictures, Ganis had a hand in films such as Top Gun , Ghost and Forrest Gump . He is also someone who uses Apple products and thinks the company is really good at making hardware. So, Ganis says, "It seemed odd that they would take that really big gigantic leap into creating content. Content is not very easy to figure out." But Apple sales fell last year for the first time since 2001 — largely due to less demand for its latest iPhones. Apple isn't commenting about its plans for TV and film, but the right content could help boost sales of Apple products, says Brian Blau, an analyst withApple Looks To Compete With Netflix Originals, But Making Hits Is Hardhttp://kios.org/post/apple-looks-compete-netflix-originals-making-hits-hard
88887 as http://kios.orgWed, 25 Jan 2017 09:40:00 +0000Apple Looks To Compete With Netflix Originals, But Making Hits Is HardLaura SydellHundreds of thousands of Americans are now working as contractors for the rapidly growing ride-hailing industry, specifically for the largest companies, Uber and Lyft. But a new survey , released this week, finds that Lyft, with its fluorescent pink mustache symbol, is more popular with drivers. More than 75 percent of Lyft drivers said they were satisfied with their experience, while less than half of Uber drivers said the same. Lyft is a significantly smaller company, but its drivers made more money. According to the survey, Uber drivers averaged $15.68 per hour, while Lyft drivers made an average of $17.50. Plus, Lyft also prompts passengers to tip. This was one of the findings from a survey of 1,150 drivers, one of the largest polls of the sort. It was conducted through the blog, podcast and YouTube channel known as The Rideshare Guy, by the founder Harry Campbell with help from researchers at Stanford University. Declining pay While the ride-hailing companies are enormouslySurvey Finds Lyft Drivers Happier Than Uber, Though Pay Has Declinedhttp://kios.org/post/survey-finds-lyft-drivers-happier-uber-though-pay-has-declined
88771 as http://kios.orgSat, 21 Jan 2017 13:10:00 +0000Survey Finds Lyft Drivers Happier Than Uber, Though Pay Has Declined